Mayor Will Flanagan used $60,127 in funds intended for needed upgrades to city buildings to renovate his own office, the headquarters of the law department and on other work on the sixth floor of Government Center.

A number of projects outlined in a $560,000 2012 city building improvement bond order have not been completed, including a safety-related renovation at the city collector's and treasurer’s offices.

Jo C. Goode

Mayor Will Flanagan used $60,127 in funds intended for needed upgrades to city buildings to renovate his own office, the headquarters of the law department and on other work on the sixth floor of Government Center.

A number of projects outlined in a $560,000 2012 city building improvement bond order have not been completed, including a safety-related renovation at the city collector's and treasurer’s offices.

The construction of two new handicapped-accessible restrooms on the main level of Government Center has not been completed, either. The closest facility is on the second floor.

But Flanagan’s private office did receive a $5,901 upgrade to his bathroom, with the installation of new floor tile and a fiberglass shower.

The renovations to the sixth-floor common area cost $27,851.

Chris Gallagher, interim manager of buildings and project manager, said much of the work on the sixth floor was done by in-house labor and some by outside companies who bid on the work. The shiny porcelain ceramic tiling was purchased at a Home Depot sale, he said.

With upgrades to the law department, visitors enter through $8,500 glass wall and door into an office entrance that features freshly painted walls in a dark, charcoal gray with light blue accents. A new L-shaped banquet sofa faces a flat-screen television hanging on the wall, for a price tag of nearly $25,000.

In the human resources office, $821 was spent on new paint and other repairs damaged by a leak; the Fall River Office of Economic Development got a $343 upgrade; and the election office had $319 in renovations.

The administration also purchased nine flat-screen televisions.

Of the projects in Government Center submitted to the City Council by the administration for the capitol improvement bonding, only work for the auditor’s office has been completed, with two new offices and new carpet.

Kenneth Pacheco, interim city administrator and public works director, provided figures showing that, of the $255,000 allocated from the bond to Government Center, there is $45,354 left.

The library, with a $15,000 allocation spent, $11,730 in major security upgrades.

The police department, with an allocation of $90,000, spent $100,222 to renovate the major crimes and VICE divisions.

There has been no work started at various fire stations at this time for maintenance and repairs.

Flanagan, who has been criticized by members of the City Council for making the sixth-floor renovations a priority when it was never identified as an intended project for bond expenditures, defended his decision.

“I’m proud of the investment I’ve made to Government Center. We often receive governors and senators,” Flanagan said, adding the sixth-floor offices and common areas were shabby and outdated.

He called Government Center the “people's building” and the investment was for the public.

Flanagan, who originally denied the sixth floor work was funded by the bond, admitted there was not enough money left from the city building improvement bond to complete the remaining projects, but city workers would build the handicapped-accessible restrooms and his administration would “strategize” to renovate the collector's and treasurer's office.

Pacheco was asked who made the final decision to allocate funds, he said it went up the chain of directors to Cadime, who signed-off and presented it to Flanagan.

City Council President Linda Pereira said the work done on the sixth floor “is a waste of taxpayers' money.”

“We raise taxes for the needs of the city, and the taxpayers don’t deserve this,” Pereira said. “We are the checks and balances, and we need to work together.”

Pereira called a special meeting set for Monday at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the funding of the work on the sixth-floor and the loss of $800,000 from a $1.6 million Dominion Energy Inc. settlement.

“I’ve invited the mayor. We need to have an open and frank discussion,” Pereira said. “I’ve got a lot of questions.”

City Councilor Raymond Mitchell called Flanagan’s actions “fiscally poor management” and could not understand why he prioritized the six-floor project.

Outgoing City Councilor Eric Poulin said he thought the intent of the city building bond and what work was supposed to be done was “pretty black and white."

All three councilors said the actions of the mayor are going to affect future bond requests before the City Council.

“I think he hurt himself as far as trust with the City Council and the public,” Poulin said.